The Love Of A Dragon
by AcousticMemory
Summary: Haru is a young princess who's always trying to help and protect her older sister, the queen.But how will she feel when she's handed over to the King of the Dragons as a bride in order to protect her kingdom? AU,Fem!Haru. more info inside.
1. 1 Princess

The Love of a Dragon

Disclaimer: Do Not Own Rave… unfortunately…

Summary: Haru is a young princess who's always trying to help and protect her older sister, the queen. But how will she feel when she's handed over to the King of the Dragons as a bride in order to protect her kingdom? AU,Fem!Haru, Let/Haru, minor Catt/Shuda and Sieg/Haru. One sided Musica/Haru.

Chapter 1 :: Princess

"Princess, we must hurry."

"Shh! Remember, we're supposed to be decoys," Haru whispered, to her guard and best friend, Musica. She adjusted the black wig on her head to cover her silver hair, but it just wouldn't sit right. "We'll be back home soon enough."

"Ugh, I know that but at this pace they'll realize you aren't her," Musica replied, steadying his horse. The were sent along the main road, versus through the dark part of the woods like the real queen and her guard was going, but his horse still scared easily at night.

"With your loud voice they'll realize it, stupid head. Come on, we'll speed up just a bit."

Musica rolled his eyes and urged his horse into a trot. Sometimes dealing with her was so difficult. She was a sweet girl, and by no means a spoiled brat, but she was too relaxed, too reckless at times. Not that he was much better. He supposed that's one of the things that made them such good friends.

They were disguised for a reason; there were dangerous men from the neighboring country trying to capture the queen. While Musica thought it cruel to use Haru as the decoy, he knew Catt did it because facial-wise they were quite similar and because Haru was a good fighter (despite being a princess and not supposed to be able to fight.) He just got irritated because she was used so often and because Haru was so willing. She never argued, fought back or tried to get out of her duties.

It was only another mile to the castle when he realized they were being followed. "We have guests," he murmured, just loud enough for the princess to hear. She nodded. "I noticed them, just keep going. Once we get inside the castle gates they can't touch us, and if we run they'll know and attack."

"So what we just wait until they attack and then run?"

"Exactly."

"Why do I get myself into these things?"

"Because you get paid really nicely and it makes you look sexy and brave to all your fan girls?" Haru grinned at him. "At least that's what you told Shuda last week when he asked."

Musica gave a sheepish grin. "You heard than, huh?"

"So did Elie and Catt. They think it's funny."

He sighed as they continued on, trying to keep a casual conversation going so whoever was following them didn't get suspicious. It was hard when he was getting tense and preparing for an attack at any moment. Luckily for his poor nerves, he didn't have to wait long.

An arrow went flying past his head, startling his horse and missing him by mere centimeters . "Fuck!" he swore, calming his horse and urging it to go faster now. Haru followed suit, pulling out her sword just in case. "Now we can run?"

"Now we can run," Haru agreed and they hurried. The castle walls were in sight, as long as they didn't stop or slow down they could make it. They didn't realize just how many people were following them though. When Haru looked back she gasped, seeing three men on horses with swords and another two with bows and arrows. "Our problem's a little bigger than I expected."

She let out a yelp with an arrow went soaring over her head, hitting the black wig and taking it right off her. Her long silver hair fell out of the tie she had it in to keep it hidden.

"Shit! That's not the queen! Fucking decoys!" a man behind her yelled.

"It's the pretty princess! She'll still fetch a fair price, try not to hurt her too badly!" another called back.

"They're gaining on us!" Musica swore. The gate was still a quarter mile away and he had a feeling they would have to stand and fight because they wouldn't make it.

"MUSICA!" Haru screamed as her horse reared up, throwing her to the ground. An arrow stuck out of the stallion's right shoulder. Musica turned his horse around and ran back to get her. Haru looked dazed after hitting her head on the ground, but otherwise seemed unharmed. He climbed off, pulling out his sword. Now there was not choice but to attack.

The men grinned at them. "If you're smart, pretty boy, you'll drop the sword and give us the girl."

"Fuck you," Musica spat as Haru stood, using a tree to help her. She picked up the sword she had dropped and stood in a fighting position. It would be hard to fight in the dress she was wearing, but then again she had more experience than most fighting in dresses.

One of the swordsmen hopped off his steed and rushed Musica, giving a battle cry. Musica parried his attack and managed to elbow him in the nose. "I'm not in the habit of handing over my charges, and I don't plan to ever get into it."

The other two with swords attacked, one going for Musica, another for Haru. Haru merely sidestepped hers; he was clumsy and tripped, almost falling flat on his face. This would be an easy fight, she thought. At that moment, though the other two pulled out swords and came after them.

"Shit!" Musica cursed and tried taking two at once. It wasn't easy by any means, and he knew Haru had no experience fighting two-to-one.

"AHHH!" one of the men cried out as a ball of fire hit him square in the chest. Another one got hit by lightning and in a flash the other three men were running as fast as they could after their horses. Musica blinked, turning to look at the kingdom's head mage, Sieg Hart.

"Thank the gods, I thought we were going to die there!" he said. As much as he hated Sieg's holier-than-thou attitude, he had an appreciation for Sieg's magic and sword skills. Sieg nodded to them.

"The guards spotted Haru's hair and I came out to retrieve you since I was the closest and fastest," Sieg said calmly, going over to Haru's wounded horse. He murmured to him, checking the wound. "I'll get Belnika out to heal this right away, we need to get you two back to the castle. Queen Cattleya's panicking, she arrived twenty minutes ago."

Haru sighed and pushed a bit of hair out of her face. "Come on, lets go back before they get reinforcements," she said, patting her horse's neck. "Someone will come help you soon."

Musica grabbed the reigns of his horse and started heading back towards the castle gate, Haru and Sieg following after him. Some days he wished he was strong enough to protect Haru on his own, maybe then she'd see him as more than the friend she always thought of him as.

"Are you okay, Princess?" Sieg asked her softly, a hand resting on her lower back as if he was guiding her.

"Yes, of course I am! Thanks to you of course," she smiled brightly at him, tilting her head cutely. "But you didn't just come because you were the closest person the could find, did you?"

"Actually I was waiting at the gates for you. If you two hadn't come within the next twenty minutes I would have gone out searching for you," Sieg replied, his voice laced with concern. "Haru, I know you want to help your sister, but this is getting a bit reckless. Things are getting worse, and there's no help for us. Please stay in the castle?"

"I'm sorry, Sieg, but I can't. Catt needs me, and I get so sick of being in the castle. I can fight too, you know!" Haru said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm useless otherwise. I can't do magic, Catt's already queen and all I am is a pretty face that just happens to be able to use a sword. I have to do this!"

"No you don't. We have magic that can create copies and decoys. You can help me, I'm always in need of an assistant. Please, I worry that you're going to get hurt without me there to protect you."

"That's what I'm here for, remember!" Musica called back, glaring. He turned his back to the two bickering lovers and went inside the gate.

Haru smiled and sighed. "He's right, Sieg. I have guards with me at all time, and I can fight just as well as they can. You have to trust me," she stopped and turned to look at him. "Catt's counting on me, and she's not going to let me stop just because her kingdom's head mage requests it."

Sieg turned and touched her cheek lightly. "I have no doubts that she would if I pointed out the past five times you've gone outside," he told her with a smile before leaning down to kiss her lightly. "Please, just think about it the next time you go out. Think about **me** the next time you go out."

He turned and walked away, heading into the castle to where he'd no doubt head to his library. Haru watched him leave sadly. "Sorry, Sieg, I just can't..." she shook her head, heading toward the throne room. She had to see Catt.

"HARU!" Catt ran to her. "Are you hurt? The guards told me what happened, where's Musica?"

"He went to put his horse in the stables, it's a bit scared after the attack. I'm fine, Sieg got there just in time," Haru smiled. "See, not a scratch on me!"

Musica came in just at that moment. "No, but trying to coax your horse back is being difficult. Bel's out there with a couple others trying to get it to come back before she does anything. Looks like he's going to be out of commission for a while," he told her before bowing to Catt. "I take it your party had no troubles?"

Catt shook her head. "No, we were fine and made it in good time. I should have sent more people with you, I didn't realize that so many would attack you all at once," she said, looking like she was on the verge of tears. Haru hugged her and smiled.

"We're fine, sister, we came back safe and generally unharmed."

"Good... you better get off to bed, Haru. Tomorrow's going to be a long day. The Dragonrace want to make a pact with us. They lost half their fields and cattle last week to fires and raids by the Raregrooves. Finally we'll have some allies to our cause, and maybe we'll finally get to do something about this," Cattleya seemed just a bit relieved by that as she bid her younger sister good night and headed back over to the throne where her husband was talking with some of their advisors.

"Good night, Musica. Don't get into any trouble," she teased as she headed off to the east wing, where her rooms were. She had a beautiful royal suite, with a living room, bedroom and bathroom. It was bigger than she ever had needed, but it was nice for times of peace where she'd have all her friends in the living room to have parties and such. She had a lot of leeway for a princess, mostly because of the risks she took on her sister's behalf.

She undressed and got into her favorite nightgown, exhausted from the journey and the fight. Not to mention her head ached from hitting the ground still. She lay in her bed for a bit, staring up at the ceiling that had stars painted on it.

Her parents had painted the ceiling for her when she was a child, making all sorts of constellations and patterns with the stars. That was back in the simple days when she was too young to understand war and loved to do nothing more than stargaze with her dad from her balcony. That was long before the war started and her parents were killed, before Catt became queen.

Despite Catt only having been queen for three years, she was a good queen, loved by all her subjects. And Haru was her little sister, the pretty princess with the same color hair as her late father. She was kind and sweet and innocent, everything expected of her. She hated it. All she wanted to do some days was fly away from the responsibility and the formalness of all of it; to go out adventuring and seeing the world with her friends. As children her and Musica had made plans to some day run away and travel the world with there other friends Elie and Belnika. Then the war started.

There was no one side to the war; all the neighboring kingdoms were fighting against each other, battling it out for land and money. A few had formed pacts, and all of them were enemies of Symphonia. Symphonia was the second largest kingdom in the land next to the Raregroove kingdom, and known for the fertile soil and beautiful landscapes. A land quite sought after for both as well.

Raregroove was the biggest threat; they were large enough to take some of the small kingdoms down, which was how they got a majority of their land, and they would stop at nothing to take down Symphonia. There had been blood feuds there since long before Haru's grandparents were even born.

The Dragonrace were never much of a threat unless you attacked them, but they normally didn't work with other kingdoms unless in a dire situation. They didn't trust humans at all, and most humans felt the same. Which is why this was a big deal; for the Dragonrace to work together with a human kingdom was a landmark, not to mention both sides would benefit from it greatly.

The other kingdoms were quite small and numerous, and most would be trampled by Raregroove in good time. Catt wanted to form alliances with them for that reason, but they were more intent on trying to take down Symphonia first. It didn't help that Symphonia was in the center of everything, completely surrounded by other kingdoms on all sides. So far their only 'allies' was the magical country of Mildea, but even they were busy with their own problems to really be much use, especially since their only city was one extremely large one in the center of their lands.

Life was difficult these days, with the constant worry of being attacked and all that. Everyone was stressed, everyone was on constant vigilance.

"You know, thinking too much is bad for your health," a calm voice startled Haru. She looked over at Sieg, who was leaning against her doorframe, a smile on his face. "I came to check up on you, make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, really. Just have a lot on my mind," Haru sat up, smiling at him. He came over and sat on her bed, looking a bit sad about something. She tilted her head and moved to sit next to him, leaning against him. "Sieg, what's wrong?"

"Haru... It's not possible for us to be together any longer," he replied in a defeated voice. Haru blinked up at him.

"What? Sieg, why-"

"Catt hasn't told you yet... I shouldn't even be telling you either, that's her right, but I think you deserve to know ahead of time. Tomorrow. This meeting with the Dragonrace. It's more than just a war alliance. Yes, there's an agreement to help each other protect our borders and take down our enemies, but more than that..." Sieg closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "You're to be married off to their king, Haru. We're not merging the kingdoms, necessarily, but the Dragonrace is willing to open up their borders to us and vice versa. They don't have enough lands to support their people since the civil war last year broke the kingdom up. Instead of starting another war though, they want to make a pact. To merge our cultures little by little."

"M-married?" Haru looked up at him with wide eyes. "No, Catt would never force me to marry someone I didn't want to!"

"No, she wouldn't. And she's not forcing you Haru, but she's asking you. She's just doing it in a way that she knows you won't refuse. It's the only way to protect the kingdom in her opinion. Yeah, there's the war alliance, but she feels that if we deny them this, they'll back out and we'll be stuck."

Haru looked at her lap. "B-but me... and you... what..." she buried her face in her hands.

"You'll be married off to their king. And I'll stay here acting as Head Mage... we'll part ways. Whether we see each other again or not is up to the fates. I don't want this either but... I'd rather it to him than anyone else. I've known him a long time, almost as long as I've known Shuda," Sieg said, standing up and resting a hand on her shoulder. "That's why I'm letting you go. While I know the king well enough to know he wouldn't back out of this alliance just because Catt didn't hand you over, I think it's best you go. They can protect you better there, you can go out whenever you want to and be safer than here. And, if it's any comfort at all, I think you'll learn to love him. He's a good man."

Haru sobbed and shook her head, wrapping her arms around him. "Don't you love me anymore? Why let me go so easily?" she cried, burying her face in his side. He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to kiss her head.

"I do love you Haru, but we both know once Catt asks you, you won't say no. And it's for the good of everyone, think of how many people you'll be helping, both ours and theirs. Maybe... just maybe you'll be happier there than you ever were here. I can never marry you because of our statuses, and I can't just leave my post because I want to marry you. We would never truly be able to be together, you know that just as well as I do. Eventually Catt would have to marry you off," Sieg said, caressing her cheek. She tried to turn her head away but he held it in between both of his hands. "I knew this would happen some day. You should have expected it as well... You're eighteen now, two years older than most girls when they married. Just be glad it's someone as strong and kindhearted as the king of the Dragonrace. I'll always love you, but this is for the sake of your kingdom... and it's what's best for you."

He didn't believe his words one bit. He loved her too much to let her go, but he couldn't disobey his queen either. It really was for her own good in many ways, and for the good of her kingdom, but he felt like he was just tearing her apart, not to mention himself.

"Get some rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow and then you'll be traveling to your new home in two days time," Sieg gave her a final kiss on the forehead before turning and leaving before he could change his mind. He had half the mind to just take her and run away. He wouldn't though. He was needed here, and she was needed elsewhere.

This was going to be the hardest three days of his life, he knew it, but if it meant she'd be safe from the real danger that she didn't even know about, was it really so horrible?

AN: YAY! =33 I've had this planned for almost a year, but I've changed it so much in the past 48 hours it's a total different story now. It's so much better really. So I hope you all like this. I love gender-bending Haru so much it's not even funny. I also have a big thing for Sieg/Haru anyways =3;; but I really wanted a Let/Haru story for once. I also have some other things I'm writing, but this is my main story right now with a couple oneshots. Read, Review and Receive teh Love of teh Vive!


	2. 2 The Dragon

The Love of a Dragon

Disclaimer: Do Not Own Rave… unfortunately…

Summary: Haru is a young princess who's always trying to help and protect her older sister, the queen. But how will she feel when she's handed over to the King of the Dragonrace as a bride in order to protect her kingdom? AU,Fem!Haru, Let/Haru, minor Catt/Shuda and Sieg/Haru. One sided Musica/Haru.

Chapter 2 :: The Dragon

Haru didn't sleep well that night. Nightmares of dragons and being attacked and her family turning away from her plagued her when she did closed her eyes. Finally just after dawn she got up, dressed in the beautiful blue dress that her sister had chosen for her to wear that day. "First impressions are always the most important, and you look so beautiful in blue," Catt had told her when she had picked it out. Now Haru understood; the better she looked the more appealing she would be to her future husband.

She had already resigned herself to this marriage. Sieg had left her, and she knew that it was for the best for the kingdom if she went; after all, if the powerful humanoids came onto their lands the people would have extra protection in their new neighbors.

The dress really was beautiful on her. It was originally sleeveless, but Haru put a sheer blue long-sleeved shirt over it, feeling like it was too revealing with her shoulders exposed. She was curling her own hair when Catt came in.

"Oh! You're awake already!" Catt smiled and came over, playing with a curl. "How long have you been up, you've already got your hair done and everything!"

Haru sighed. Doing her hair took a while because it was so long, down to her lower back, but when it was completely curled it was simple and beautiful. Catt smiled softly and helping with the last few locks of hair. "Haru, I have to talk to you about something."

"Oh, you mean like the marriage you were planning for me without even telling me?" the words came out a little more bitter than she meant them, but she was still upset over not only that but Sieg breaking up with her.

Catt blinked and sighed, going over and sitting over on the edge of the bed. "It's not planned yet," she said, looking at her. "It won't be planned until both sides agree to it. It was an idea, but I seriously doubt he won't agree to marry you once he sees you."

Haru sighed, playing with a little bit of hair. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"With everything we were doing and you being my decoy yesterday and everything, I didn't think it was the right time. It's only been two weeks since the suggestion was brought up, and we've been so busy," Catt explained, looking at her pleadingly. "Please don't be mad, Haru. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I never realized how deep your and Sieg's relationship was. You know that could have never gotten any farther though, right? Unless he was to leave his position?"

"Yeah... he reminded me last night of that," Haru said sadly, still playing with her hair. "I've already decided what I'm going to do. If this is really going to help anyone, then I might as well go through with it. Better than anyone else you could marry me off to, I guess."

Catt smiled softly. "And you won't be too far from home, just three days on horseback, we'll be able to see each other again," she stood, walking over to her and kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much Haru. You've done so much for me, and our kingdom. Daddy would have been proud of you."

Haru looked up at her with watery eyes. "You think so?" she asked in a small voice before hugging Catt and sobbing. "I miss them so much. Daddy would have been able to keep this from happening, wouldn't he?"

Catt hugged her tightly. "I don't think so Haru. I don't think he would have handled anything differently all these years. I'm sure of one thing though; he'd be proud of all you've done for our people, and I'm sure he would have killed Sieg the moment he found him kissing you in the library," she giggled. Haru smiled and nodded, knowing she was just teasing but sure that their dad also would have killed Shuda the moment he caught him doing anything to Catt had he been alive then. They were both daddy's girls after all.

"Catt?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think this is really for the best?"

"No. I don't think it is. I know it is. You've never questioned my decisions before, you've always trusted in me... Now is another time I need you to really trust me," Catt turned and headed to the door. "They should be here around noon. I'll have Musica come and escort you down to the gates later on."

Haru watched her leave and sighed again, turning back to make sure her hair was still fine after all the playing with it.

Catt wiped away a tear from her eye as she left Haru's living quarters. It was difficult to let her go, but there were things out there after Haru that it was best she never know about. This was the only way to guarantee she'd never have to know, even if it meant that Haru would have to leave home and marry a complete stranger.

Haru ended up taking a bit of a nap after Catt left, she was so exhausted from the night before. Musica smiled when he saw her sleeping so peacefully. If it wasn't for the fact this was so important he would have let her sleep. "Haru... Haru..." he shook her lightly. "You have to get up, the Dragonrace convoy has been spotted."

Haru blinked and looked up at him with a yawn. "Wha- Oh!" she got up, rushing over to the mirror to straighten out her hair and dress. "How do I look?"

"Radiant as always, Princess," Musica grinned at her. "Come on, let's go meet the neighbors."

He didn't like the stressed look on her face, but he pushed it to the side; she worried too much for her own good after all. Plus, what could possibly go wrong with all the guards and everything there to protect her and her family? He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her as long as he was alive. They were best friends. He just wished there cold be more.

The walk down to the gates seemed longer than ever to Haru. She was a bit tense, and didn't even reply to Musica's jokes and comments on the way there, which was unusual. Her mind was filled with everything going on around her. It felt like her world was slowly falling apart.

"There you are! They're here!" Catt grabbed Haru's arm and situated her beside her and Shuda, making sure everything looks perfect before turning and smiling widely at the five people approaching. Haru was a bit shocked at first; two were definitely knights, and they trailed behind just slightly, gazing suspiciously at all the guards watching the gates and the castle. Another two looked really old, Haru figured they were advisors. But the king- or at least who Haru was sure was supposed to be the king looked like a completely normal citizen. He wore commoner clothes and a long green cape with a gold dragon symbol on the back. There was nothing king-ly about him.

The 'king' bowed to Catt and Shuda. "It's nice to finally meet you, Queen Cattleya. I've heard many rumors of your kindness and beauty," he said politely. Shuda scratched the back of his head sheepishly like he was guilty of that. "Shuda. Long time no see."

Shuda smiled. "Nice to see you too, Let. Not often you wander about anymore, huh?"

"Trust me, if I could I would be adventuring again. The pressures of being a King aren't the most pleasant," Let smiled back at him. "Besides, it wouldn't quite be the same without you and Sieg there to cover my back."

Haru looked him up and down. So this was the king of the Dragonrace? He seemed so down to earth and calm. Not to mention he was a friend of Sieg and Shuda's. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad. He was handsome, that was for sure.

"Welcome to Symphonia, King Let," Catt smiled, interrupting with the formal introductions that were custom. She had a smile on her face though, like this was going much better than she anticipated. "I'm sure you've had a long journey, so please follow us inside." 

One of the old men whispered to Let and he shook his head. Catt turned, leading everyone back into the castle. She had Let and his companions shown into their rooms to get changed out of their traveling clothes, while she, Haru and Shuda went down to the throne room to sit. Catt smiled at Haru. "See, this is going well already!"

"Yeah," Haru replied quietly, not really paying attention to what Catt was saying. Shuda chuckled.

"You alive over there, Haru?" he asked.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm alive, just thinking about something," Haru said with a smile.

"Don't think too hard, you might end up hurting yourself," Musica said from behind them, a grin on his face. She glared back at him and kept walking, ignoring his comment. She sat in the smaller throne beside Catt where she normally sat for formal company, Musica standing behind her.

It wasn't long before Let and his group entered, looking around like they were impressed. "A very beautiful castle," Let commented when he got close enough for them to hear him. He glanced at Haru, but turned to talk to Shuda again, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. She was more beautiful than Shuda had ever described to him. He supposed that was because she was too beautiful to put into words.

Haru barely said anything, mostly listening to the conversation. None of it was what they came here to deal with, but she knew it would only be a matter of time.

"We didn't come here for idle chat, unfortunately. I believe we have business to discuss?" Let finally said, sitting up straighter in his chair and taking up a more professional tone. "We came here to make an alliance. Raregroove is on both of our borders, and he's not wasting time making his intentions clear. Unfortunately that doesn't give us much time to make this deal, or at least agree not to fight amongst each other."

"An alliance would be appreciated. Our only ally is Mildea, but they're so busy dealing with the Sandpeople we can't rely on them at this time. We just can't fight Raregroove anymore, he's got too many people at his disposal and fills their heads with false promises because he knows they'll die for the cause then, and they do. We can't risk sending out troops out if it's just a suicidal mission. Our generals refuse to do it, and I refuse to as well," Catt explained. "I think it's in our best interest to help each other since we have the same problem, and it seems to be getting worse."

Let nodded, thinking for a minute. One of his advisors whispered something in his ear and he nodded a bit. "Any conditions we should know of?" he inquired, looking up at her.

"We just ask if we need help, you provide as best as you can. We'll do the same. Obviously there'll be times that'll be a bit hard."

"Yes of course. And we'll have to set up plans for a border patrol," Let said, a strategy seeming to form in his mind as he spoke. Haru yawned. It was getting late and not only was she bored but she was hungry. As important as this was she hoped it ended soon. She didn't notice Let's smile at her reaction to the change in conversation. She seemed intent on listening earlier, even if she hadn't spoken a word during all of it.

"Those can be discussed after we explain each other's military situation later on. I think we're all getting hungry though, and dinner should be ready soon," Catt smiled, having seen Haru's yawn out of the corner of her eye. "If you'll all follow us into the dining room?"

Haru hadn't meant to seem so excited, but she was the first one out of her chair and heading to the dining room, Musica having been dismissed hours ago. Shuda and Let chuckled and stayed behind a bit, discussing something in a hushed whisper that seemed to amuse them.

The meal went well, and Haru was more than happy when she was told she could go do as she wished afterwards. She wondered when they were going to discuss the possible marriage though. That was her main concern now that the alliance was out of the way.

She wandered out into the royal garden. She didn't realize how late it was; red was just starting to fade to purple and dark blue. It was a beautiful night, a light breeze wafted through the large garden full of white Symphonian roses and other such beautiful flowers. In the center of the garden was a large albino willow tree, one that had been planted by the first king of Symphonia as a symbol of the country's growth and strength for years to come. Two days after birth each child born to the royal family had a ceremony under the tree to bless them with strength and pride in their country, as well as protect them for demons.

She laid a hand on the pale trunk of the tree, looking up at it sadly. Carved on the trunk were the names of the kings and queens over the past 400 years since the kingdom had been founded. It didn't take her long to find her father's name; she had long memorized where it was located on the tree.

This had always been their place, where they would sit together on hot days reading a book, where the family would have a picnic in the garden, where Haru would cry after a bad day or getting insulted by some of the boys. It had so many memories for her, and it had become her place of comfort over the years.

She leaned her head against it and sighed. It was a peaceful night, good for not thinking, just feeling and enjoying the life around her. She couldn't calm her mind though. There was too many questions, too many worries for her to empty her mind.

"_Just breathe,"_ her father would always say. _"Empty your mind and breathe. Don't think about how wet the grass is, how warm the breeze is, just stop thinking. Take normal, comfortable breaths. Not the deep ones they tell you to use in meditation. It takes too much effort and thought to do that. Not to mention it's uncomfortable. Eventually you'll find that place in your soul that all your worries will go away. And maybe you'll even find the answers you're looking for."_

"Sorry Dad, but I don't think that's going to help me this time," Haru whispered, turning around and starting to head back into the main part of the garden, bumping directly into someone. She yelped, and prepared to fall backwards, but was caught by a pair of strong, muscled arms.

"Forgive me, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking," Let spoke, setting her back on her feet. "I was lost in thought."

Haru smiled and moved some hair out of her face. "Oh, it's okay, so was I. Um, I never got to really introduce myself earlier. I'm-"

"I know who you are. Shuda speaks of you often in his letters. It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Haru," Let bowed to her. "I am Let."

"It's very nice to meet you, King Let."

"Let is fine, thank you."

His smile was kind, not like many of the other people who looked down at her as being stupid. "Well then, you can just call me Haru," Haru replied and curtsied politely. "It's a beautiful night out."

"Yes, it's been a while since I've seen clear skies. We've had rain non-stop in our capitol city. It helped quell the fires, but it's been miserable otherwise," Let sighed, running a hand through his hair. "These are difficult times."

"But there's always hope. Things will get better if we all work together to make it so," Haru said, looking up at the sky. "My Daddy always told me that if we lose hope, then we have nothing. Without a will to fight every bump in the road fate throws at us, we might as well lay down like dogs and let fate trample over us."

"He's quite right. That doesn't make it any less stressful though," Let chuckled. "Your father was a wise man. It was a shame to lose him so young. Perhaps he would be able to handle all this better than the rest of us have."

Haru gave a shrug, as undignified as it was for a princess to do so, and smiled. "You're not what I was expecting..."

Let chuckled again and nodded. "I get that a lot. Most seem to think I should be an old man or something, mostly because I've been king so long."

"Oh... I didn't know that actually... I just imagine your people were more like dragons..." she blushed at the admission and looked at her feet.

"Some have dragon attributes, such as wings or tails or a patch of scale, but we mostly look human. The thing that sets us apart really is the fact we're much stronger naturally than humans are, and our magical powers," Let explained. "And we can transform into a dragon in extreme circumstances, but after that we can never change back. It's too hard to regain our humanity after that."

Haru smiled. "Ah, okay. I think I understand now," she said cheerfully, clasping her hands behind her back. "How old are you anyways?"

"I turn twenty-four soon. I inherited the throne at the age of twelve, when my father died in battle," Let told her. "Heh, it's been a long time since then, but it seems young rulers are becoming more frequent. And it's not always for the best."

Haru sighed, knowing he was referring to the king of the Raregroove. The former king had died around the same time as her own father, leaving his young son Lucia, who was only fifteen at the time, in charge. Thats when the war just got worse.

"That is a young age to rule a kingdom, but you seem to have done well," Haru said, shaking herself from her thoughts with another smile.

"I've struggled really. At the time I didn't want it, but eventually I realized the alternative was much worse and our country would have ended up following right alongside Raregroove to take over the world," Let sighed but then smiled. "But enough about that. Tell me about yourself a bit?"

Haru played with her hair a bit before starting with her likes and dislikes, not knowing where else to start. She didn't make a habit out of telling people about herself. It seemed vain to describe herself in words, but she managed it fairly well without sounding proud.

Let stood there smiling down at her as she shuffled her feet occasionally. She seemed so shy and innocent. He didn't realize she had stopped talking until her eyes met his and she blushed. She rubbed her shoulders a little bit, starting to get cold. "Perhaps we should go inside? It's a bit chilly out tonight," Let offered, turning to go into the castle.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea," Haru smiled and followed. "I suppose you guys got everything figured out for the alliance."

"Mostly, yes. We have some other details to discuss yet, but it's late and we're tired from traveling so much. We'll probably be here for a couple days to get everything set up. It looks good though," Let said, turning to look at her. "There is something I wanted to discuss with you though. I'm sure your sister has already mentioned it before, but I'm currently searching for a wife..."

Haru nodded, blushing a bit. "Yes, she told me this morning," she said, pushing a lock of hair out of her face.

Let watched her for a moment, not really sure how to approach this at first. "You're very beautiful, Haru," he said, thinking the blush on her face adorable. "Your sister wishes for you to marry me, for many reasons. I understand her reasons, but I don't want you to be forced into this if you don't want it."

Haru shook her head. "I understand. You don't seem so bad, and Catt wouldn't hand me over to just anyone," she sounded more confident in that than she really was. "I guess I never thought of myself getting married."

Let nodded. "Neither did I, but the elders are getting impatient for me to marry and produce an heir, despite the fact I doubt I'm going to die any time soon. It's just better to be safe than sorry, honestly," he sighed. He smiled when he realized they were in front of his room. "We can talk more in the morning. I think we both need sleep right now. Good night, Princess Haru."

Haru turned three shades redder when he kissed her cheek and turn into his room. She scooted off to her room, a bit dazed. She had been kissed many times by Sieg, but this was a stranger to her.

Everything seemed so different than she thought it would feel. She thought she would be angry at Catt for getting her into this mess, but he really was a decent man, and he seemed genuinely interested in her. She still wasn't sure if she was ready for this though. It was a big change, marrying and leaving her home and family. She didn't even let her mind wander to the producing an heir part. That's not something she's ever thought of for sure, even after all her time dating Sieg.

She laid down in her bed, not even bothering to change into a nightgown. Her exhaustion was finally catching up to her, and she was just too tired to do anything else tonight. She wasn't even sure what time it was.

Unlike the night before, she fell asleep quickly, curled up with her pillow on her bed.

Let wasn't so lucky. His head was full of Haru. Shuda and Sieg had told him all about her, but he had been pleasantly surprised. She was beautiful, sweet, and although she was more innocent than he had expected, that was surprisingly okay with him. It just meant that he had to teach her some things. Things that he was sure he'd be very pleased to teach her.

He sighed. It wasn't respectful to Haru to be thinking things like that about her, whether she chose to be his wife or not. He really hoped she would though; he knew he could be happy with her if given a chance. Tomorrow he would know for sure.

A.N: sort of a lame ending in my opinion, but I was doing this while slightly distracted. As a matter of fact I didn't even realize I had 7 pages written until just twenty seconds ago. =3 Read, Review and Receive teh Love of teh Vive!


	3. 3 The Wedding

The Love of a Dragon

Disclaimer: Do Not Own Rave… unfortunately…

Summary: Haru is a young princess who's always trying to help and protect her older sister, the queen. But how will she feel when she's handed over to the King of the Dragonrace as a bride in order to protect her kingdom? AU,Fem!Haru, Let/Haru, minor Catt/Shuda and Sieg/Haru. One sided Musica/Haru.

Chapter 3 :: The Wedding

Haru had never been so scared in her life. Sure she had been through a lot of devastating things, and had run through battlefields on behalf of her sister, but never had she actually felt so much terror as she felt on the morning of her own wedding. She wanted to hold it off as long as possible, but then she discovered that Let was required to go back as soon as possible due to a new attack. So three days after first meeting him, she was being put in her mother's wedding dress in order to marry him because the advisors refused to let him leave without his bride. Even though Let seemed to trust Catt and Haru's word, the old men were still wary of humans and figured she'd be married to some other man by the time Let got to come back.

Catt fretted over having to plan a royal wedding with only twenty four hours (at the time), but she was saved by Let requesting to leave as soon as possible after it was all over. He was extremely worried about the news he recieved and would have left right away if it hadn't been for his advisors demanding the marriage or to at least take Haru with them.

So here Haru was preparing for her impromptu wedding at noon, Catt demanding to fix her hair and everything instead of leaving it to servants.

"Haru, are you sure about this? It's not too late to turn back," Catt told her, seeing the scared look on her face.

"No, because that'll just lessen their trust in us, besides, I'm sure I'd feel the same no matter when the wedding was or who it was to. I just... I'm afraid to leave home, and afraid to be married... and... a lot of other things," Haru blushed, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked beautiful in the snow white dress, her hair done up in a traditional wedding style. Catt smiled.

"I was scared too, and I knew and loved Shuda by then... All the sudden you don't feel like yourself anymore. You feel like suddenly not only are you yourself, but you're him too. How you act reflects on him and vice versa. How you feel affects him, if he cares about you at all, and rather you care or not, you'll see it. I know you will because that's how you are," Catt said, turning her around and smiled. "I don't think he could have picked a more beautiful and perfect bride myself... I'm a bit biased though."

Haru chuckled. "It's almost time isn't it?" she said softly, looking at the mirror again. She hadn't seen Sieg since the night he told her it was over. She had no idea why, but she was glad for it. She didn't think she would have been able to handle it. "What if I end up hating him? What if this doesn't work or he dies or-"

"Haru. He's a good man. Even if you never love him, I know for a fact you'll never hate him. He'll treat you right, and take care of you. It'll work. Trust me. I know you're afraid, you don't want to leave here and you don't like not knowing what lies ahead, and trust me I'm just as scared as you are... But I wouldn't even have thought of this if I didn't have complete faith in both of you. And I wouldn't even have let it go this far if Shuda didn't trust him," Catt told her, hugging her tightly. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Let sighed, standing nervously in the front of the room, waiting for the music to start playing. Despite it being a quick wedding, it felt right to him. Only a few people were to attend; close friends of Haru and Catt's, a few important dignitaries, and a few guards there to make sure they didn't get attacked over all this. He glanced at Shuda, who was acting as best man. Shuda nodded just before the music started and the doors in back opened. Let felt his breath catch in his throat.

Haru stood there, Catt at her arm, leading her down the aisle. He couldn't have pictured anything more perfect. She looked scared, but that didn't matter. He was sure if he had been any less composed than he normally was he would have had the same look on his face. It was hard enough to try to keep down the butterflies. One thing was for sure; she had to be the most beautiful girl- no, woman- in the world.

It seemed to take forever for them to get down the aisle. Haru felt like the gods had slowed time down on purpose at a moment when she really just wanted to run down and get this over with. She tried to at least smile, but just ended up making her lip quiver. He looked handsome in gold armor with the Dragonrace symbol on the breastplate. It looked a little worn like it was actually his battle armor versus formal armor that was typically worn for weddings. She supposed it was, that he had carried it with him in case of a fight. Still, he looked amazing.

Finally after what seemed like eternity Catt gave her hand to Let and moved over to the side in her place as maid of honor. Let gave Haru a smile. He could feel her hands shaking slightly and it worried him slightly. It normally wasn't good luck for the bride to pass out.

Despite her nervousness she was comforted by the warmth of his hands. They were so much bigger than hers, but they were warm and gentle. She returned his smile, only half listening to what the priest was saying, enough to know when she was supposed to be speaking. Her mind was distracted by whether this was the right choice or if all her worries were based on the doubts she had told herself were unfounded. She hated her own worrying mind some times, especially when the decision was made and it was too late to take it back. She had to live with it, and Catt's voice echoed in her head telling her that it would work.

They made it through the ceremony safely, Haru's voice coming out confidently by the time it was her turn to repeat after the priest. She braced herself for the kiss that would seal the marriage, nervous that she would be bad at it or something. Let smiled and leaned down to capture her lips in his.

Haru didn't know what she had expected really, but she knew that if she had the chance she might have kissed him forever. It was so different from the kisses she had received in the past. It was perfect. And it ended all too soon as everyone stood and clapped.

She blinked, blushing and smiling a bit. After the loss of her relationship with Sieg she wasn't sure she could ever enjoy a kiss again, or even really be in a true caring relationship, but that kiss was changing her views. One kiss and she felt like she really could love Let given a bit of time to get to know him better. Now the only doubt was her former feelings for Sieg. Nothing had ever felt so good with him.

"You should go say goodbye to your friends and family. We only have a couple hours before we leave," Let whispered kindly into her ear. "I'll see you soon."

Haru watched as he walked over to talk to his advisors, who both seemed upset, and she went over to Catt. "I guess we're leaving soon," she said sadly, hugging her.

"The news was bad. Let said he'd explain on the way. I have a feeling it's just getting worse by the minute. Come on, lets go get you changed and ready to go," Catt lead her out of the room. Everyone else was in a flurry of movement to congratulate the newlyweds and then head back to their daily activities. "Listen, I know you want to be independent, and fight like you always do, but promise me, no matter what you'll listen to what Let tells you to do."

Haru blinked at her. "What do you mean? It's not like I'm going to rush off into a fight or something like that. You taught me better. Why, is something going on?" Haru looked at her.

"No, Haru," Catt shook her head and sighed softly. "I just know if something happens or people are in trouble you'll end up getting in trouble. You're too kind, too protective of everyone around you. I just want to be sure that if Let tells you not to do something, you'll listen to him like you listen to me. I need to know you're safe no matter what. Please promise"

Haru smiled, though she was still wondering if there really was something going on. "Fine. I promise. I'll listen to him," she promised and continued walking to her room with Catt following. "Besides, what sort of trouble could I possibly get into?"

Catt sighed, staring at the intricate details on the train of Haru's dress, a sad look on her face. _If only you knew, Haru... If only you knew..._ She thought to herself.

Haru felt like this morning was a waste when the wedding took thirty minutes yet all the work of getting ready had taken hours. Now she had to take it all off and change into traveling clothes and leave home. "I can come back and see you right?" Haru asked quietly as she slipped out of her dress.

"Of course! It might be a while though with the war going on because it'll be dangerous after our plans are put into action, but after that yes. You can come anytime you want, as long as Let's okay with it of course," Catt said, smiling. "Besides, eventually you're going to have to come visit me and your niece or nephew."

Haru turned to look at her. "Wh-what?" she blinked at Catt's smile and then grinned. "Oh Catt! Really?"

Catt nodded. "Yes. That's why this is a crucial time to set up an alliance. Eventually I'm not going to be able to do much besides sit around and approve plans. I'm going to hate it. Guess we both got that from mom, not liking to sit around while everyone does all the work," she smiled softly as she packed some of Haru's things. She couldn't really take much, but she really didn't need to anyways. She was the wife of a king now. "I'm excited but scared to death. It's a horrible time to be having a child, right in the middle of a war."

Haru nodded and pulled on the pants she wore while traveling. She pulled her favorite dress over it, a simple grey-blue dress she had found in the marketplace one day. It was light and perfect for if she got in any fights, not that she planned on that happening any time soon.

Everything was moving faster than expected. While she was packing and saying her goodbyes Let getting ready for the journey. Normally it would be a three-day horse ride, but they couldn't waste any more time. He smiled when Haru came out of the castle and headed over to them. "Have you ever seen a dragon before?" he asked when she was close enough. She blinked and shook her head.

Shuda smirked. "They aren't as cool as they sound," he said. Let glared at him.

Haru shook her head and looked at her new husband for a moment until five dragons landed inside the gates. There was much yelling and fretting, but Let just smiled. "Wow!" Haru gasped, watching as the large white one shook herself a bit, stretching. "Beautiful."

"They are, aren't they," he said and stood next to her. "We're riding them home. It's the only way to get back there by tomorrow. Otherwise we might be too late."

She looked up at him. "Really?" she looked back at the dragons. She wasn't sure that's be the most comfortable ride of her life, but she was excited. She had only seen dragons in books before, but in real life they were amazing.

"Yes, really," he smiled. He hadn't seen her so excited in the few days he had known him. Her eyes glowed as she inspected them. "Well... I think we'll be going now."

Catt smiled sadly. "Take care of her for me," she said. She gave him a pointed look. "Protect her."

Let nodded. Like he planned to do anything less. "No harm will come to her as long as I'm alive, I swear on my honor as a warrior and a king," he replied. He had to be the luckiest man in all the world to have her as his wife, nothing would touch her as long as he drew breath. "And a husband."

Shuda wrapped his arm around Catt. "She'll be okay, love," he whispered to her. His look to Let was only half teasing. "If not I'll gut him myself."

"Good-bye Shuda. Queen Cattleya," he bowed to her and headed over to Haru. "Come on, we need to go."

He helped her get on to the white dragon, the others getting onto their own, holding onto a couple natural grips on the back of her neck. Haru looked down at her sister and brother-in-law, her arms around his waist. She couldn't fight the feeling it would be a long time before she got to see them again, and it scared her.

Her last sight of her family was blocked by the wings of the dragon spreading as they took off.

AN: Shorter than the last chapters, but this was sorta just a filler chapter. We'll be back to many words comes next chapter! Read, Review and Receive teh Love of teh Vive!


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